Monday, October 27, 2008

The politics of Halloween...

OK, for Halloween this year my boys have chosen normal costumes. The younger one will be Superman, and we bought his costume. The older one will be Darth Vader and his mother is making his costume. My wife, due to the fact that she has a cute little parasite growing insider her, will probably wear an orange shirt and call herself a pumpkin. If the baby starts kicking could she say she's the pumpkin from Alien? I have chosen to dress as Dr. Gregory House. My Friday students should have a wonderful time watching me limp around, popping pills (M&Ms) and making sarcastic remarks. Oh the joy of it all!

What does that have to do with politics? Nothing. But this does:



An exaggeration? Nope.

According to Senator Obama taxes have nothing to do with raising revenue, only making the world "fair"...

Q: You favor an increase in the capital gains tax, saying, "I certainly would not go above what existed under Bill Clinton, which was 28%." It's now 15%. That's almost a doubling if you went to 28%. Bill Clinton dropped the capital gains tax to 20%, then George Bush has taken it down to 15%. And in each instance, when the rate dropped, revenues from the tax increased. And in the 1980s, when the tax was increased to 28%, the revenues went down.

A: What I've said is that I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness. The top 50 hedge fund managers made $29 billion last year--$29 billion for 50 individuals. Those who are able to work the stock market and amass huge fortunes on capital gains are paying a lower tax rate than their secretaries. That's not fair.

Q: But history shows that when you drop the capital gains tax, the revenues go up.

A: Well, that might happen or it might not. It depends on what's happening on Wall Street and how business is going.

Source: 2008 Philadelphia primary debate, on eve of PA primary Apr 16, 2008


I look forward to leeching off the work of others and having no part (stake? interest? reason to care?) in the funding of our government for the next 4 to 8 years,

Brad

Friday, October 3, 2008

I'll have a blue election...

I've spoken highly of the predictive power of Intrade (formerly Tradesports.com) in relation to political issues. They have provided an electoral map that can be embedded, so here it is:



Here's how election night will go...
1. If McCain carries Pennsylvania he wins (he will carry OH, VA, NC & FL if he carries PA.)
2. If McCain carries Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida we need to wait for the results from Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado (long night!)
3. If Obama carries PA and any one of OH, VA, NC or FL; he wins.

The one I want to happen (as a partisan): #1
The one I want to happen (as a professor): #2
The one that will happen: #3

Looking forward to the Obama Nation,
Brad